A Great Place to Party? Survey Says… Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill received the dubious honor of being rated on www.PartySchool.com – a web site that rates schools’ party scenes, gives advice on planning parties (including a list of drinking games “to get the party started”), and provides the “world’s only patented, scientifically proven cure” for combatting hangovers. PartySchool.com awarded UNC-CH with 4 out of 5 stars for its “wild” party scene.


NEA Gives Thumbs Up to Distance Education

The National Education Association (NEA) this week released a study showing positive support among NEA-member faculty for distance education. The study polled more than 400 plus instructors who had taught distance-learning courses and 130 who had not in an effort to assess distance learning’s strengths and weaknesses. Currently, one in 10 higher-education NEA members teaches a distance-learning course.


College Graduates Don’t Know Much About English

The average English major graduates knowing much about racial, ethnic, and sexual politics, but very little about literary history and classic authors, according to a new study of undergraduate English programs by the National Association of Scholars, a higher education reform group in Princeton, New Jersey.


Who Is James Moeser?

On April 14, James Moeser was elected chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Because UNC opted for a secret search, however, North Carolinians were left wondering who James Moeser was and what he could do for UNC-CH.


Racial Preferences, Grade Inflation Hurt Education, Students Say

While most students favor ethnic diversity on campus, they oppose compromising fairness and high standards to achieve it, according to new survey by Zogby International. The study, commissioned by the New York-based Foundation for Academic Standards and Tradition (FAST), interviewed 1,004 randomly selected college students nationwide.


Critics of Race Preferences Vindicated by Enrollment Figures

The Princeton-based National Association of Scholars (NAS) and the Berkeley-based California Association of Scholars (CAS) last week expressed great satisfaction over enrollment figures released by the University of California. Minority enrollment at the University of California is up despite the banning of race preferential admissions policies there three years ago.




Buyer Beware: Some State College Saving Plans Don’t Add Up

Are tax-sheltered state college saving programs, such as North Carolina’s College Vision Fund, a good buy or a big scandal? According to a recent article by Forbes magazine reporters Thomas Easton and Michael Maiello, many of the funds suffer from inflated fees, limited disclosure and corruption. “Be sure you’re an educated investor,” warn Easton and Maiello.